Thunderstorm spawns huge slide in eastern California

INDEPENDENCE, Calif.  A huge mudslide has forced the evacuation of more than 50 homes in the California town of Independence on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada.

Cal Fire spokeswoman Janet Upton says severe thunderstorms Saturday set off the mudslide 300 yards wide and up to three feet deep.

The mud oozed across California Highway 395 and forced the road's closure for several hours. Authorities say they evacuated a few people who were trapped in their homes. Some of the mud entered the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

But Upton says there wasn't enough rain to help efforts to combat wildfires elsewhere in the state.